1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image printing apparatus that is connected to a network, and more particularly to an image printing apparatus that is capable of printing images displayed on an image display device that is connected to a common network that is connected to the printing apparatus.
2. Related Background Art
A combination of a digital camera and a color printer can create prints with the print quality that is comparable to the print quality of photographs created by a conventional silver-salt camera. Group photos, which are conventionally photographed and printed through the use of a silver-salt camera, can be provided with good quality by a digital camera and a printer.
Also, presentations, which are conventionally performed with the use of an overhead projector (OHP) and slides, can be performed with the use of a notebook type personal computer and a video projector.
However, when group photos are created by an ordinary digital camera and printed by a printer, some shortcomings are experienced. For example, multiple prints may need to be created for the number of people who are photographed and shown in the photos, or prints may need to be created for the number of people who want a particular photo, after checking the number of such people. This is nothing more than making copies of photos that are taken by a conventional silver-salt camera, which can be wasteful and time-consuming.
Furthermore, when generating documents to be distributed in a presentation that is carried out using a combination of an ordinary computer and a projector, multiple sets of the documents may need to be created in advance for the number of expected participants to the presentation, or only a predetermined number of such documents need to be prepared upon confirming the number of participants or destinations at which the documents are to be sent.
The present invention generally relates to an improvement of the operability in printing images. The present invention relates to a system, apparatus and method, which notifies to the user in a user-friendly manner as to whether the user can request images to be printed. The present invention also relates to a system, apparatus and method, which is capable of printing an image that is displayed on a display device even after the image is switched to another image during printing.